Centrair celebrates 20th anniversary milestone
February 27, 2025
Chubu Centrair is an international airport built on an artificial island in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, located about 22 miles south of Nagoya. The airport is connected to the mainland by a toll road and a ferry, and by the Sky Limited Express from Nagoya train station.
Chubu Centrair serves the city of Nagoya, the third largest metropolitan area in Japan, and was ranked as the fifth-best airport in the world, and as the Best Regional Airport in Asia in a 2019 survey.
The Aichi Prefecture lies at the heart of the Japanese aerospace industry, and plays a huge role in the Boeing 787 programme, whose wings, mid-forward fuselage, centre wing box, and main landing gear well are all manufactured in Japan. A group of companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fuji Aerospace Technology, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, are together responsible for supplying 35% of the 787’s parts. These assemblies are transported to a Boeing facility at Centrair (The Boeing Dreamlifter Operations Centre), from where Boeing 747 Dreamlifters make several flights each week. The parts were initially shipped to Boeing’s Everett, Washington, factory for final assembly, and now go to the new 787 assembly plant at Charleston International Airport. These Dreamlifter aircraft have operated from Centrair since 2007, and operations are likely to increase as Boeing ramps its Dreamliner production rate to 10 aircraft per month in 2026.
Boeing donated the prototype Model 787 Dreamliner to Chubu Centrair International Airport on 22 June 2015, in recognition of the contribution of Japanese companies to the 787 programme. This then formed the centrepiece of the Seattle-themed ‘Flight of Dreams’ retail complex that was opened in 2018, and that is connected to the passenger terminal via a footbridge.
The Seattle Terrace shopping centre features 61 shops and restaurants that you would expect to find in Seattle but that are individually themed to look as though they belong on a Japanese street. The complex also includes the first Boeing store opened outside the United States, where official Boeing merchandise imported from the USA can be purchased, including genuine Boeing aircraft parts which have been turned into furniture or decorative items.
The Flight Park is an aviation-themed exhibition area which includes two flight simulators, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner prototype and a children’s play area with swings and roundabouts.
